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It has been public knowledge for weeks that the surviving members of Buffalo Springfield were going to reunite at Saturday’s Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, California — but somehow it didn’t seem real until Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay walked onstage and played the opening chords of “On the Way Home.” The three men hadn’t shared a stage together since the final Buffalo Springfield concert in 1968, but as soon as their voices merged, it seemed as if no time had passed for them at all.

Some of the songs hadn’t been performed by anyone in the band since Lyndon Johnson was president, but after a week of rehearsals, the band gave a near-flawless performance. It was the clear highlight of a remarkable seven-and-a-half hour concert.

If the Buffalo Springfield story ends after the second night of the Bridge School Benefit, it will be the perfect final chapter.

Buffalo Springfield - 10/23/10

Wow.

All we can really say at this point is that the night that Buffalo Springfield reunited after 42 years was a purely transportive experience. Tonight -- for a brief moment -- we traveled back to the '60's in the Buffalo Springfield time machine with Richie Furay, Stephen Stills and Neil Young .

And they sounded great and were having the time of their lives. And the audience loved every second.

The surviving trio did their late friends proud. Opening with a slightly slowed version of the Furay-led On The Way Home, Stills and Young dutifully fell into supporting roles as harmony singers. The rendition was tight; close your eyes and you could almost be tuning into an AM station from yesteryear.

I was a bit worried about the Springfield last night, following a great set by Pearl Jam and trying to turn back the clock to 1967. I was excited. I missed their last show when I was 10, and wasn't going to miss this one. But worried.

By the way, some folks say this isn't the Springfield. I say, if Neil Stephen and Richie say it’s the Springfield, it is.

So out they come. Neil, God love him, in leather fringe. Made me unreasonably happy. Richie in a cowboy shirt. Stills looking dapper in a jacket and tie. A hell of a lot older, but with a sixties dress code vibe. Three microphones, Stephen stage left, Richie in the middle, Neil on the right.

And here’s the thing, they were incredibly tight and disciplined. Not much talk. No bullshit. Pretty faithful to the originals (except no electric guitars of course, and a more Stillsy arrangement of Bluebird). And they completely nailed the set.

Richie’s voice is/was great, and he sang the hell out of stuff. And Neil was a band member. Singing backup vocals. Playing guitar. Fun to watch him play a part as just another guy in the band. They did a lot of the Springfield unison singing, there were usually 2 or 3 guys singing (which really helped for Stills, you got the character of his vocals, but he has Richie there to sweeten his rough edges). Joe Vitale was also adding to some of the vocals, by the way.

The set list is posted above. They went with classic Springfield, mostly earlier stuff that, with 2 exceptions, they probably did live in the old days. Not much of the “solo” stuff from Last time Around. I Am a Child is a big Neil song so they did that. Neil wanted to do Kind woman for Richie (Neil on piano). But those were the only 2. On the Way Home was on Last Time Around, but it was recorded much earlier and we know they did that live.

I missed the electric guitars a couple of times, but hell. It was truly magic. The sound was still there. With the three mikes lined up and the voices blending, you could really feel the evolution from folk to rock and roll. And all the country guitar licks sounded great.

This wasn’t one of those great rough-edges Neil shows or a talky, self-congratulating CSN show. This was a tight, all about the songs Buffalo Springfield show. They were a BAND for a night. A real good band. Going again tonight. Maybe a little set list variety?

Neil I still love you after all these years!! Seeing Buffalo Springfield for 1 hour was the show of my lifetime! Richie Fury, Stephen Stills and Neil - WOW. The world missed the best hour EVER! Obviously they have been practicing all these years in Neil's kitchen cuz 40 years apart doesn't produce music like I heard last night!! Susan K.

This Springfield thing is so Neil. He did the solo tour and the solo album. He made a big noise all by himself. He proved he could even be rockin' and electric all alone. He let Daniel Lanois do all the current studio tricks (and even talk pompously about how avant garde and futurisc his production was, when the album was about the songs and Neil's guitar).

So what's the next move? back to 1967. Acoustically revisiting a band where Neil was more an integrated part of a unit than any other band he was even in. Three guys up front doing folk-y unison vocals.

Same set night 2. A little looser, maybe a touch less tight. They were having more fun with it, especially Neil and Richie. Stephen seemed a little stressed about the songs he didn't know and didn't look up much from his monitor until he let loose for Bluebird and Mr. Soul at the end.

Bluebird and Mr. Soul. Holy hell. Who woulda thought ... Stills tried a little jump at the of For What it's Worth and almost took a header. No, it ain't 1967.

Night 2 I really enjoyed watching Richie get his moment in the sun. He was rock solid both nights and having fun. Neil was grinning a lot too.

There's nowhere to go from here, they did this and they aren't going to do a new album (I don't think) or an oldies tour. But this is something I think Neil has to be real happy he finally did.

A great weekend overall, by the way. Pearl Jam did 2 great sets. elvis, Kris, everybody was solid. Leon Russell almost stole Sunday doing gospelly numbers off the the new Elton/Leon album - horns, girls and funky beats. Had the crowd on their feet.

God, that really moves me: Eddie singing 'Walk with me', Neil clearly in charge of the band, directing it towards the end and then himself singing:"I lost some people I was travelling with, I miss the soul and the old friendship"

For me that's like Neil handing over his freshly written anthem to the next generation, almost like a legacy… but not without adding his personal experiences to it. Presented this way the song's universal meaning shines trough, very very brightly.

Wait a minute here - I can't be the first to recognize that one of the great tracks from 'Le Noise' has now been done with a full band - and of all bands - Pearl Jam!!! Wow. We all noticed right away that the new songs are fantastic and would be so great with a band...and here it is. Wow. I can only hope that the version of 'Walk with Me' done with PJ is just a hint of things to come when Neil will take a band on the road to rework the 'Le Noise' tracks. Wow again. And PJ threw it in the middle of their set!! WTF?

Yeah, that's the thing I noticed as well- NY doing the solo stuff with a band. I hope that bodes well for the future, though I don't know if that would be Crazy Horse. Perhaps because I was just re reading the part in "Shakey" where he's been secretly practising what was to be the "Mirrorball" material with Pearl Jam. You know the guy is always thinking three steps ahead.

Neil was definately enjoying playing with Pearl Jam. His "acoustic" guitar on Walk With Me had the whole place vibrating, it has a big, nasty low end. And he traded lines with Eddie V. both nights on Keep on Rockin'.

But I wouldn't predict his next move. Walk With Me was killer both nights.

John K, I just want to say before I start, that it is one of the pleasures of my life to be near the stage with these people here tonight. I have been to 23 of 24 bridge school benefits and I have gone both days which means about 46 shows. Each one filled with the magic energy of good people. From the children to the music and all of us. It’s a wooden ship we sail together.

BUMPED COMMENT - PLEASE HELP!***My Loving boyfriend proposed to me last night while Neil Young was on stage. Harvest Moon will be our first dance song at our wedding.On the way to the car(we were sober) The box fell out of my purse and it was lost in a matter of 5mins from me noticing it was gone. PLEASE, to the person who picked it up , I have been sick and crying for 2days because of all the time and trouble he went into to save for this ring and the thoughtfulness that went into it. Please return the ring. Post on this site or go to Craig’s list to find me.I will be under lost ring at Neil young and from Sacramento.

wow - amazing Bridge School benefit concert, we were on the lawn saturday night, and there were three generations around us, including my 16 y/o musician daughter who loved, loved the concert. Thank you so much Neil Young for your artistry and mission, for the new (modest mouse, grizzly bear), the fun (Billy Idol), and the gold (Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam, Kristofferson, Jackson Browne, and everyone else.....- and for giving such meaning to attending a live music performance. All the best to the Bridge School for year 2010-2011!

I attended the Saturday night show and was just stunned at how good everyone sounded. Great performances all around. But Neil clearly dominated the show with his voice and playing.The songs are still ringing in my head.

My Loving boyfriend proposed....Elizabeth, I just want you to know I sincerely hope you get your ring back. Maybe someone will contact Shoreline office and let them know they found it. You two trust in the good of people and Best of Life to you~